Letter Writing Day In Japan

The Letter Writing Day can be a bit confusing...as I found on numerous sites that this 'holiday' falls on 7th of December, then again on the official World Letter Writing Day page the date is 1st of September, and Japan issues LWD stamps each year (for over two decades now) on 23rd of July. In any case, its a nice way of reminding people of the (still) existence of letters. I am hoping to pick it up again as well, just a few pen-pals to keep it going. As usual the Japan Post issue (from 2003) is very cute, plus a Hello Kitty postmark.

This is my latest post for the Sunday Stamps - via the link you can see more entries i.e. stamps for the letter 'L'. In case you want to see my 'L' postcard you can click my blog here.

Tropical Flowers, USA

This colourful First-Day cover was attained during my visit to the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington D.C. 

Brasilian Jaguarundi

Today for Sunday Stamps - letter 'J' turned out to be a bigger challenge than I thought...considering I'd skip countries beginning with that letter. But then I've realised this kitty on a Brasilian stamp is called Jaguarundi (or eyra) - a small wild cat native to southern North America and South America.

The jaguarundi is closely related to the much larger and heavier cougar, having a similar genetic structure and chromosome count. While both species have been traditionally placed the genus Puma, the jaguarundi is now sometimes classified under the genus Herpailurus (to be honest, animal classifications sometimes downright confuse me). Despite the usual feline solitary lifestyle, they seem to be somewhat more gregarious than many other cats; they make an unusually wide range of vocalisations, including purrs, whistles, yaps, chattering sounds, and even a bird-like chirp (this made me chuckle :D).

More J-entries on this Sunday Stamps link.

60th Anniversary Of The Smurfs

An awesome surprise by dear Gerda, thank you so much :) Grouchy Smurf on the left is my soulmate heh

EUROPA 2014 - Monaco

I don't think I have swapped for too many Europa 2014 stamps/covers, but this one sure is a gem. The theme was the national musical instruments. The birds are also especially memorable :)

Moldova Various

Different aspects of the country of Moldova, plus the matching cute hedgehog :) Since this was sent the postal prices in Moldova have gone up and have made swaps that more difficult...a real shame.

Gandalf, New Zealand

Another mint mini-sheet swap, because its just so awesome, from the New Zealand's The Hobbit series (2013). Also lovely stamps on the envelope from Malaysia.

Year Of The Monkey, Hong Kong

Not typical for me to swap for mint stamps, but when it comes to mini-sheets like this I make an exception:)
Thanks to Hazel from Hong Kong